Talk, understand and plan
Make space for difficult conversations, understand choices and put thoughtful plans in place—whether death feels close or a long way away.
Independent end-of-life and grief support
You don't have to find your way through this alone.
The Death Guide offers calm, practical and deeply human support through the conversations, choices and changes that come before, during and long after death.
Based in the Central West · Supporting people across greater NSW
A guide beside you
Death touches every part of life. The support around it should too.
Some people come with questions about planning ahead. Others are caring for someone who is dying, trying to organise a funeral, navigating family decisions or wondering how to live with what has happened.
There is no single right moment to ask for help. The Death Guide meets you where you are—with professional knowledge, honest conversation and support shaped around what you actually need.
Before. During. Long after.
Support for the whole journey
Steady guidance when things change
Receive practical and emotional support through dying, family decisions, care, the first hours after death and the work of creating a meaningful farewell.
Someone beside you after the funeral
Grief does not finish when the funeral ends. The Death Guide remains available as a person you can turn to for support, practical advice and help making sense of life after loss—in your own time.
How I can help
Personal support, not a package off the shelf
Every person and family is different. We can begin with one conversation, work through a particular decision, or continue together across a longer part of the journey.
End-of-life planning
Gentle, practical conversations about what matters to you, what you want, and how to make those wishes easier for others to understand.
Grief and psychological support
Human, informed support for anticipatory grief, bereavement, trauma and the complicated emotions that can follow a death.
Funeral guidance and celebrancy
Help to understand choices, plan a meaningful funeral, prepare a eulogy or create and lead a service that feels true to the person who died.
Advocacy and family conversations
Calm support in meetings, help to communicate needs, and practical liaison with services, care teams and funeral professionals.
Companionship and vigil sitting
Steady, compassionate presence for a person approaching death and for the people who love them.
Support long after
Ongoing guidance as life changes after a death—without a timetable, expectations or pressure to ‘move on’.
The Death Guide is a professional, paid service.General information is shared freely, while individual guidance and support are arranged personally to suit your needs.
Who is The Death Guide?
I'm Damien Hudson.
I bring professional experience in funerals, psychological science and grief support together with an understanding that, at the centre of every difficult moment, there are people trying to do their best.
I am the General Manager of Macquarie Valley Funerals and Monuments and have worked as a funeral director, supported people as a volunteer grief counsellor, and completed a degree in Psychological Science. My experience also includes grief, trauma and suicide support, funeral planning, celebrancy and eulogy preparation.
I also bring lived experience of palliative care, voluntary assisted dying and suicide. I know these experiences cannot be reduced to a checklist. My role is not to take over, but to listen, explain, advocate and help you find a way forward that feels right for you.
Funeral care, when you need it
The Death Guide works in conjunction with Macquarie Valley Funerals.
I am happy to offer independent advice and support if you are considering or using another funeral home outside our area. However, I do not work for other funeral homes. When funeral-director services are required, I wholeheartedly recommend our small, family-owned and operated funeral home, Macquarie Valley Funerals, which serves wide areas across Sydney and Central NSW.
Common questions
You are welcome to ask anything.
Death can make ordinary questions feel difficult to say out loud. These are some gentle places to begin.
Do I need to be dying to contact The Death Guide?
No. You might be planning well ahead, supporting someone else, facing a serious diagnosis, organising a funeral or living with grief long after a death.
What if I am using a funeral home outside your area?
I can still provide independent advice and support while you consider your options or work with a funeral home elsewhere. I do not work for or provide funeral-director services through other funeral homes. When funeral-director services are needed, I wholeheartedly recommend engaging The Death Guide in conjunction with Macquarie Valley Funerals—our small, family-owned and operated funeral home serving wide areas across Sydney and Central NSW.
Can you help before someone dies?
Yes. Support can begin while someone is well, during palliative care, after a diagnosis, or whenever a family feels ready to talk and plan.
Do you only work with older people?
No. Death, grief and difficult decisions affect people of every age. Support is shaped around the individual, their family and their circumstances.
Where do you provide support?
The Death Guide is based in the Central West of NSW and supports people across the Central West and greater NSW. Phone and online support can also be arranged.
Do you provide legal advice or prepare wills?
No. The Death Guide does not provide legal advice or prepare wills, but can help you identify questions and connect with appropriately qualified professionals.
Let's talk
You don't need to know exactly what to ask for.
Tell me a little about what is happening, or simply say that you would like to talk. We can work out the next step together.
Central West NSW · Greater NSW · Phone and online support available
Urgent help — available 24/7
Please reach out now.
If you are concerned about suicide, or you are overwhelmed after a sudden unexpected death and need urgent help for yourself or someone else, please contact one of these free, confidential services immediately.
If a death has just occurred unexpectedly, or a life is in danger:Call Emergency Services on 000or go to your nearest hospital emergency department.
LifelineFree, confidential crisis support · 24/713 11 14Suicide Call Back ServiceProfessional counselling for anyone affected by suicide · 24/71300 659 467Beyond BlueMental health counselling and support · 24/71300 22 4636
The Death Guide is not an emergency or crisis service. These services are available when immediate help is needed.